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Chinese Patent Office joins German courts in making ruling that has implications for global solar industry

PR Newswire

Cremorne, Vic., Nov. 23, 2020 /Medianet/ --

  • The Chinese Patent Office has found in favour of renowned solar technology leader Hanwha Q CELLS (“Q CELLS”) in relation to the validity of a key piece of technology, its proprietary PERC and Passivation patents, joining recent findings by courts in Dusseldorf that have also upheld the intellectual property rights over the same infringed technology.
  • Hanwha Q CELLS Australia Pty Ltd (“Q CELLS Australia”) has also filed patent infringement proceedings against LONGi, Jinko and REC as well as against certain distributors, such as Baywa and Sol Distribution in Australian courts in March, 2019.
  • With German Court rulings already resulting in the order of destruction and recall measures of the infringed modules in that country, the German ruling case has global implications.

 

Hanwha Q CELLS (“Q CELLS”), a globally renowned solar technology leader and total energy solutions provider, can confirm that China’s Re-examination and Invalidation Department of the Patent Office, CNIPA, has upheld the validity of the Company’s patents on PERC (‘971 patent) and Passivation (‘407 patent) following a challenge from LONGi Solar (“LONGi”).

In November this year, the Chines Patent Office ruled in favour of Q CELLS on two patent litigations lodged by LONGi in July and August of 2019 against the company, alleging that its patents were invalid. The Patent Office’s ruling, which upheld the validity of patents ‘971 and ‘407, reaffirmed the originality of Q CELLS’ leading-edge proprietary technologies.

Q CELLS has already won a litigation filed against three companies – JinkoSolar GmbH, REC Solar EMEA GmbH and LONGi Solar Technologie GmbH – at the Regional Court of Düsseldorf in Germany on June 16 for PERC (‘971, equivalent European patent EP  2 220 689) patent infringements. Following the court ruling, sales and imports of the infringing products have been prohibited in Germany.

The results in China add to a 28 September, 2020 ruling by the Regional Düsseldorf Court against JinkoSolar, which has ordered the manufacturer to stop offering, selling or importing modules that infringe on Q CELLS’ European Patent, EP 2 220 689 (EP ‘689 patent) in the European market. Furthermore, last month, Q CELLS initiated penalty proceedings on September 28, 2020 against JinkoSolar.

Patent ‘407, the other patent validated by China’s Patent Office, is also concerned with the passivation layer technology. This innovative technology increases solar cell efficiency by the passivation layer, properly combining the chemical passivation sublayer and the field-effect passivation sublayer to increase a solar cell’s efficiency.

Q CELLS is anticipating favourable outcomes in ongoing PERC patent trials including the USA, Australia and further actions in Europe.

Q CELLS’ decision to enforce the German Court’s ruling has been based on the company’s strategic judgment and assessment. Q CELLS will not tolerate any activities that infringe the company’s intellectual property. Accordingly, Q CELLS remains fully determined to protect its patent rights. 

“Protection of intellectual property rights and strict compliance with IP laws are more important than ever for our fast-evolving solar industry,” said Q CELLS Australia’s Head of Business, Peter Bae. “We welcome the recent decisions by the German Courts and the Chinese Patent Office and are confident that we will witness a similar outcome here in Australia.

 “We must uphold fair competition throughout the industry. Q CELLS is internationally recognised for the strength of its R&D programs. Protecting the company’s intellectual property rights is a prerequisite for ensuring that the next generation of technological innovations continues to stem from genuine, long-term R&D efforts.”

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About Q CELLS

Q CELLS is a renowned total energy solutions provider in solar cell and module, energy storage, downstream project business and energy retail. It is headquartered in Seoul, South Korea (Global Executive HQ) and Thalheim, Germany (Technology & Innovation HQ) with its diverse international manufacturing facilities in the U.S., Malaysia, China, and South Korea. Through its growing global business network spanning Europe, North America, Asia, South America, Africa and the Middle East, Q CELLS provides excellent services and long-term partnerships to its customers in the utility, commercial, governmental and residential markets. For more information, visit: https://www.q-cells.com.

Safe-Harbor Statement

This press release contains forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "will," "expects," "anticipates," "future," "intends," "plans," "believes," "estimates" and similar statements. Among other things, the quotations from management in this press release and Q CELLS’ operations and business outlook, contain forward-looking statements. Such statements involve certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in or suggested by the forward-looking statements. Except as required by law, Q CELLS does not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

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